


Culminate

by Dream_Wreaver



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Requests, drabble turned ficlet, sequels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 19:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14677988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dream_Wreaver/pseuds/Dream_Wreaver
Summary: When Nathalie applies to be a governess at the Agreste household she uncovers a secret she shouldn't have. Though she has already paid the price she has no way of knowing what happens nextSequel to Exchange





	Culminate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [poppicock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/poppicock/gifts).



> Because I often ask for drabble requests my good friend Poppicock asked for a sequel to Exchange and here we are. Hope you guys like it. Note, this is not a standalone sequel, for proper context you will need to read Exchange.

Their little arrangement went on for months. He had been cruel at first, taking his own pleasure and leaving her to burn. She had been sent back to the party stewing and unsatisfied as a chaperone. An hour later he joined the party, in considerably better spirits than he had departed it. As the servants were directed by Nathalie to clean up when it was over he walked past her, depositing a note in her hands. In the safety of her room she found it said to meet him at a specified time.

Their liaisons were always in such fashion. Sometimes, he had her meet him at the scene of her crime, where the could be uninterrupted and go for hours. Other times he relished the idea of their being discovered, if only because she was the one who would suffer. Still, as much as Nathalie had thought she might detest this shift in their dealings, she found it…  _ difficult _ . Despite how much of a bastard he was painted as (and more often than not  _ was _ ) he was a phenomenal lover. Of course, Nathalie had never expected anything more. Gabriel Agreste was a perfectionist, and the only times she was ever left wanting was when he did it on purpose. And he always finished her off later.

Still, there was that nagging worry in the back of her mind. Of course, the usual of her being less  than virtuous now, given her wedlock lover status, for a lady of her station no less. But there was that nagging fear that was only relieved by the monthly mornings of waking up to stained sheets.

Until this past month. Nathalie trembled in fear. For all their trysts, for all their preparation (the french envelopes were a  _ godsend _ ) for her lack of title as his official mistress, for all his desire for her, Gabriel Agreste still loved his wife. Hawkmoth was still terrorizing the city, looking for the magical jewelry with the power to bring her back. And when he would eventually succeed, there would be no place for Nathalie. Except, it wasn't just Nathalie any longer.

A child.  _ His _ child.  _ Their _ child. But he could never know. And Nathalie couldn't allow herself to be thrown out on the streets. Not without a reference. No, she would need to come up with a plan. And it seemed there was only one.

She left him a letter, one stating that she had come down with a sudden onset of homesickness and had returned immediately. She had apologized for the short notice, but assured him she would be back in a few weeks. There had been no response. Excellent. When the time was nearly ended she sent another letter, this one stating that being home had made her realize how much she missed the quiet country life, and that she wanted to stay there. She apologized once again for her fickleness but said she wished to leave his employ and though it seemed bold might she still be able to ask him for a reference so that she could find employment here? If not, she would certainly understand why.

With a trembling hand the letter had been sealed and sent for delivery. A few days later, she had been informed that there was a visitor awaiting her company. Nathalie, having just finished another round of morning sickness, said she couldn't. Not five minutes later the servant had returned, this time looking more than a little shaken up, and said that the guest was  _ very _ insistent she see them.

She should have known then and there who it was. But pregnancy was said to addle the mind. It was the only explanation for the shock she felt on seeing Gabriel Agreste in her father’s sitting room.

“You've been avoiding me Nathalie,” he began without greeting, “Care to tell me why?”

“I, I,” she stuttered, stumbling for an explanation, “I explained in my letters didn't I? I grew homesick, I want to stay here.”

“But you still wish to work?” He raised a skeptical brow at her.

“I can't very well expect to live on father’s, or eventually my brother’s, purse strings forever.” She explained. In a manner that she hoped was subtle she laid one arm across the other, but of them demurely but protectively resting in front of her stomach.

“I see,” his gaze had darted down when she moved her arms, but immediately dismissed the action in favor of further questioning, “Now, care to tell me the  _ real _ reason why you ran from me?”

“I did,” she whispered quietly. Clearing her throat, she said in a sterner tone, “With all due respect Lord Agreste, I think perhaps it would be best if you left.”

“I will,” Gabriel assured her, “As soon as you tell me the truth.”

He stood from his seat and strode over to her. Sliding his hands about her waist he hauled her against him and whispered harshly in her ear, “You're keeping something from me Nathalie. And I won't rest until I know what it is.”

“It is nothing that concerns you,” She wiggles out of his grasp, he took another step towards her.

“Well well then,” Gabriel leered, “if it's nothing that concerns me then I should be free to do with you as I please, as I have always done.”

“We can't,” she whimpered helplessly as he began to kiss that spot behind her ear, just under the corner of her jaw.

“And why not?”

“Not in my Father’s house,”

“I have a country home not too far from here, join me for a ride then.”

“No!” She exclaimed pushing away from him, “Not here, not there, not anywhere, not ever again!”

He stared at her, long and hard, and then a look of comprehension slowly dawned on him. Too late Nathalie realize that in her haste to protect herself from his advances she had desperately covered her stomach.

“You're with child?” He whispered as if not daring to believe it.

Nathalie swallowed past the lump in her throat. Every fiber of her being said to lie, but she found she simply couldn't. But that didn't mean she could say the words either. Caught utterly she could only nod mutely.

“Is it mine?” Without even realizing she had done it Nathalie lunged forward and smacked him. Of course it was his, how could he ask such a stupid question? He had been the only one she had ever gone to bed with, literally and metaphorically speaking.

She was panting with rage, and still recoiling from the shock that she had actually  _ struck _ him. Nathalie didn't even register the tears until they were trailing down her face. She saw how it affected him, the empathic abilities extending and he winced as he felt how much he had hurt her with that question. 

“Nathalie, I-”

But she didn't stay to hear him. Instead she ran, retreating up the stairs to her room where she flung herself onto her bed and began to sob. It shouldn't have been surprising that he was able to follow her despite not knowing he layout. Her emotions provided a clear sense of direction. He entered without knocking.

“Nathalie, we need to talk about this,” Gabriel said as he sat down on the be next to her.

“What's there to talk about?” Nathalie asked bitterly, “I left because I didn't want you to throw me out. You want your wife back, and just as women have since the beginning of time, I am going to deal with the ramifications while you go on with your perfect life. Don't you worry though, whatever the child is born as it will never know you are it's sire.”

“Father,” Gabriel corrected.

“If you're not going to be around I see no reason to bestow that title on you.” Nathalie spat at him.

“But I am,” Gabriel replied.

“And how do you intend to do that?”

“By marrying you.”

“It is cruel enough how you have been treating me,” Nathalie flared at him from under the curtain of her hair, “I cannot take being made a fool of any longer.”

“You are not, because I am not toying, nor am I joking.” Gabriel sighed, “To be quite honest Nathalie, I have grown tired of the increasing failure. Emilie was a big believer in fate, and were she here now she would tell me that my successive failures meant that I was not meant to pursue this path any longer. And truth be told, I do not want to. I want to move on, Adrien has been trying to tell me for so long, and I was being too stubborn to listen. But I do not want the specter of my past any longer, I want you. I want you to be my wife, and I want to be the father of the baby that grows in you. Would you grant me that honor?”

“Why should I?”

“Because you love me,” Gabriel answered, “And I find, I find that I love you as well.”

“You sound so ecstatic about it,” Nathalie deadpanned.

“My apologies,” he replied, “I had grown so used to the notion that Emilie would be my only love that this whole situation has taken me quite by surprise.”

“It's not fair,” Nathalie moaned, “You know how I feel about you, but I can't tell if you're lying or not.”

Gabriel undid his cravat and revealed a small stone lying beneath it. Removing it from his shirt he held it out to her and asked, “Would you like to find out?”

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it? Did you hate it? Leave a comment and let me know. Until next time everyone


End file.
